Electrocardiograms (EKG) are a common medical diagnostic aid and are routinely taken in hospitals, clinics, doctors' offices, and, in emergency situations, anywhere. Such EKG examinations employ electrodes which are attached to the patient's skin at various places including, commonly, two or more limbs.
Many structures and means for attaching have been suggested in the past for such electrodes. Basically, these are of the disposable type, e.g., bandages or adhesives, or of the reusable type, e.g., suction cup electrodes or strap binding electrodes which use a belt buckle fastener (or more modern one use Velcro fasteners).
Among structures those suggested for the reusable type are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,323,516 to Salter. The disposable electrodes often have the advantage of ease and speed of attachment since they are most commonly self-sticking, but since they are used only once, they are relatively expensive in the long run. The non-disposable electrodes have the advantage of being less expensive in the long run, but usually are relatively time consuming and difficult to apply. In emergency situations, where every second can count, this is a considerable drawback.